


it's alright (i'll be your pressure suit)

by galfridian



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Flirting, Pre-Episode: s02e08 Spacewalker, Tumblr Ask Box Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 12:18:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3067595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galfridian/pseuds/galfridian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“It’s okay,” he says. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's alright (i'll be your pressure suit)

There’s a moment, a breath before sleep finally comes, when the pain slips away. Finn’s hand, tucked protectively around hers, is all she feels.

But when she wakes, Finn is gone, and there’s no trace of his warmth. She has just a minute to wonder if she imagined him there, then the pain comes.

It begins as a twinge in her spine, a reminder that a bullet was lodged there just a day ago, but it shoots to her leg. Her paralyzed leg. Her nerves howl _fire!_ , although her brain knows that’s impossible.

She screams, shifting her weight to her right side to ease the pain. But it persists.

She’s crying – gross, naked sobbing; the despair she hasn’t let Finn or Abby see – when she hears: “Hey, hey. I’m here. I’ve got you.” A hand finds hers and she clutches it as the pain rolls over her again.

This time, sleep comes all at once. _I’m here_ , she hears as the world goes dark, _I’ve got you_.

 

"Phantom pain," Abby tells her. "Common in patients who’ve lost a limb, but not unheard of in cases of paralyzed limbs."

She promises Raven it isn’t permanent. _Unlike paralysis_ , Raven thinks, and if this is her body rebelling against this loss, she can’t imagine it’ll ever stop.

 

"You’ll need crutches," Wick says one afternoon, plopping himself on the gurney next to hers.

That first morning, when she’d woken and found him asleep in Finn’s chair, she’d been relieved. Grateful.

Of course, then he’d woken and taken her gratitude as a sign he should drive her crazy.

"What?"

"Crutches. Gotta get you out of here."

"And do what?" Raven asks, gesturing to her useless leg.

Wick shrugs. “You’re the youngest zero-g mechanic in fifty years. You repaired a hundred year old escape pod and came to Earth. I’ve heard a few rumors about bombs and radios. You’ll figure something out.”

"Fifty-two," she says. "It was fifty-two years."

 

 _Phantom pain._ Raven thinks about that a lot. Even after the pain subsides and Wick thrusts a pair of crutches in her hand – insufferable grin and all – the thought sticks.

The idea of feeling something that’s no longer there. Something that you’ve lost.

And it’s funny, you know – for years, Finn was all Raven had; her life was shaped around him. But now, she doesn’t miss him. She thinks she should feel him, that should have some piece of her that’s _him_ , but she doesn’t.

 

"Admit it," Wick insists, giving the clutch under her right arm a gentle tug, just to throw her off balance a little. "We’re a good team."

Raven surveys the work they’ve done, grinning. It’s been good, having something to put all her energy into. Sometimes, toward the end of a long day, when they’re sweaty and covered in grime and her arms hurt from her work, Raven forgets her paralysis.

"Yeah, okay," she says, forcing as much resignation into her tone as she can, "maybe we are."

 

Some nights, when Abby can be convinced it’s safe, Wick and Raven take walks outside of camp.

She’s tried not to get used to this, relying on someone. But Wick is stubborn, probably the only person as stubborn as she is, and he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.

One night, they find a clearing. It’s a warm night, clear skies. They sit on the grass, beneath the stars, and when they look up, it’s almost like being in space again.

 

In zero-g mechanics, this is what Raven used to love the most: Returning to the Ark, her body readjusting to gravity as the room pressurizes. Because there was always a moment – a fleeting but incredible sensation – where gravity was tethering her to something solid, but she still felt weightless.

The first time Wick kisses her, she feels it again. Tethered, but floating.

After, she wobbles a little, and he steadies her with his arms around her waist. “It’s okay,” he says. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”


End file.
